Charity calls on GCC’s support for rent reform

Gillian Loney

A campaign calling on Holyrood to reform the private rented sector has the backing of Glasgow City Council.

GCC recently passed a motion in support of Shelter Scotland’s Make Renting Right campaign — a response to a Scottish Government consultation on proposals to reform private tenancies.

In Glasgow, they account for almost 50,000 households, while more than 80,000 families with children rent privately across Scotland — but Shelter argues that private renting operates under an ‘outdated’ regime.

Adam Lang, head of communications and policy at Shelter Scotland, said: “We want to see a private rented sector that is fit for families and protects all tenants — a sector which provides long-term homes, not short-term housing.

“Too often we hear of people being moved on, evicted or rents increased unreasonably, forcing people into the disruptive cycle of having to move house — every six months in some cases — preventing them from ever being able to put down strong roots.”

Scottish Government stats show that average rents in Greater Glasgow have risen by 11.1 per cent in the last four years, with the average two bedroom property standing at £626 per month.

Councillor Helen Stephen, who proposed the motion, said: “For our young people, students, families and all of those who are choosing to make the private sector their homes, transformational and fair change is required.

“Glaswegians will be eagerly anticipating the upcoming government legislation on this much-needed reform.”

Southside neighbourhoods including Shawlands, Mount Florida and Govanhill remain popular for private lets.

GCC recently revealed a £9.3 million plan to bring four blocks of private tenement housing in Govanhill’s Westmoreland Street into the social housing sector in a bid to tackle ‘poor landlord practice, lack of factoring arrangements, overcrowding and rapid turnover’.

Bailie Liz Cameron, the council’s executive member for economic development, welcomed the move, commenting: “It has been obvious that a longer-term solution to issues with private sector housing in Govanhill has been required for some time.”